Question

write chemical reaction describing. the eletroplating of copper​

Answer 1

Answer:

chose the Copper Sulfate Electrolyte, a Copper Anode, a Steel Cathode and a Battery as the components in the illustration of a circuit on Electroplating. This example appears as an answer to another question in Quora. The link to that question is given below.

What is electroplating?

There are detailed explanations given in the above answer. The answer to your question appear in the following illustration and explanation.

In the illustration shown above, one Copper ion of the electrolyte deposits on the iron cathode by taking two electrons from the iron cathode. The iron cathode then takes from the battery two electrons given by it to the copper ion. Now the battery is in deficit of two electrons. In the next step, the battery takes back the two electrons from the copper anode. One atom of Copper metal in the anode gets oxidized and looses its two electrons to the anode. This copper metal from the anode becomes copper ion. The electrolyte solution is thus replenished with the copper ion it lost to the cathode. This is one full cycle.

Thus in the first reaction of Copper ions depositing on the Cathode is a reduction reaction. As gaining electrons is a reduction process. In the Anode however, the copper as a metal looses two electrons to become a copper ion. Hence what happens in the anode is an Oxidation reaction. As per the definition of oxidation, if a metal looses electron, it is oxidation.

chemical effect of electric current